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PMA Business Conditions Report: August 2010

Metalforming companies except business conditions “to remain fairly steady during the next three months,” according to the August 2010 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report.

In the August report, it shows that 25% of participants anticipate an improvement during the next three months, which is up 23% from July’s numbers. 58% of participants predict it will remain unchanged (compared to 61% last month) and 17% predict a decrease (down from 16% last month).

Alongside anticipation for improvement, more than one-third (38%) of metalforming companies forecast increased orders for the next three month (up from 29%). The rest anticipated no change (44%, down from 51%) or predicted a decrease in orders (18%, down from 20% in July). Yet the percentage of companies reporting decreased shipping levels grew in August: 22% reported daily shipping levels were above levels of three months ago (down from 34%); 41% reported no change (compared to 54%); ad 37% reported a decline in levels (up from 12%).

However, the percentage of companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff has dropped from 27% to 22%, marking the lowest level since May 2008.

“Metalforming companies experienced strong increases in orders and shipments during the first half of 2010 from the very low levels of 2009,” said William E. Gaskin, PMA president. “While the typical company now has experienced 12 months of new orders and 11 months of shipments above their 12-month rolling average, PMA’s August report indicates a cautious outlook for shipments during the next several months. However, the report also reflects that expectations for new orders into the 3rd quarter are fairly strong, with 82 percent expecting orders at the same or higher levels for the next three months.”